General information | |||||
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Location | Atherton, Wigan England | ||||
Coordinates | 53°31′44″N2°28′44″W / 53.529°N 2.479°W | ||||
Grid reference | SD684037 | ||||
Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
Transit authority | Greater Manchester | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | ATN | ||||
Classification | DfT category E | ||||
Key dates | |||||
1 July 1888 | Opened as Atherton Central | ||||
1954 | Renamed Atherton | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 0.330 million | ||||
2020/21 | 65,272 | ||||
2021/22 | 0.180 million | ||||
2022/23 | 0.193 million | ||||
2023/24 | 0.205 million | ||||
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Atherton railway station (formerly Atherton Central) serves the town of Atherton,Greater Manchester,England. It lies on the line between Wigan and Manchester on the Manchester to Southport Line;according to Office of Rail and Road figures,it is the third busiest station on the line after Manchester Victoria and Wigan Wallgate. [1]
The station is located 10 miles north-west of Manchester Victoria,with regular Northern Trains services to Kirkby and Southport.
Atherton is the nearest station to Leigh,one of the largest towns in Britain without its own railway station. The 582 bus service provides a frequent service to Leigh and Bolton.
Although it lies some distance from the centre of the town,the present Atherton station was originally named Atherton Central;this was to differentiate it from the now-closed Atherton Bag Lane on the line from Bolton Great Moor Street to Kenyon Junction [2] ) and Howe Bridge on the line between Wigan North Western and Manchester Exchange.
The station dates from 1888,when the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway opened a direct line between Windsor Bridge Junction and Crow Nest Junction (near Hindley) to shorten its main line between Manchester and Liverpool and avoid the congested Bolton area. It was well used from the beginning and was subsequently quadrupled shortly after the turn of the century,later carrying through expresses from Manchester to Blackpool,Windermere and Glasgow (again to avoid Bolton) in addition to Liverpool workings.
The station became part of the London,Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923,and then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.
The cutbacks of the mid to late 1960s saw all the long-distance services diverted via other routes,rendering the additional ("fast line") tracks obsolete and they were taken out of use on 21 November 1965. The inner tracks and platform faces on each side were retained to serve the two remaining lines to begin with (even though the tracks had previously been arranged with fast lines serving one island platform and the slows the other),but in the late 1980s the surviving tracks were realigned so as to serve just one of the two island platforms (the one used by the old fast lines) in order to allow the other to be abandoned. [3] It was subsequently demolished and the former site is now heavily overgrown.
During the early to middle 1970s,the station had a sparse service outside weekday peak periods (see British Railways timetable 95,1974) but in more recent times,the frequency levels have improved considerably with financial support from GMPTE,with a resultant increase in patronage.
When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s,the station was served by Regional Railways with support from the PTE,an arrangement that continued after the Privatisation of British Railways with co-operation from the current operating company.
The station has a ticket office,which is staffed seven days a week;a self-service ticket machine is also available in the booking hall. There is a waiting room at platform level,along with digital information screens,timetable posters and a P.A system to offer automated train running announcements. Step-free access to the platform from the ticket office is via a lift,but this is not available when the ticket office is closed. [4]
Monday to Saturday daytimes,there are two departures each hour to Manchester Victoria (one of which continues through to Blackburn via Todmorden and the other to Leeds) and two per hour towards Wigan,one of which continues to Kirkby northbound via Wigan Wallgate whilst the other terminates at Wallgate. Only a limited direct service now operates onward to Southport (in the early morning,evening peak and late nights since the winter 2019 timetable change) through the week and on Saturdays. There are also a few services that terminate/start from Wigan North Western in the business peaks and late evening. [5]
Recent timetables provide a convenient connection (although a platform change must be made which is not possible for wheelchair users) at Hindley for services to Bolton.
On 23 May 2010 a Sunday service was introduced as a 12-month trial by GMPTE,providing an hourly service until the early evening. [6] [7] Previously no trains had called at the station on Sundays since the summer of 1966. This service remains in operation in the current 2021 timetable,running hourly to Southport and to Blackburn via Manchester Victoria and Rochdale.
Atherton railway station gained notability in 2016,when it was the scene of a filmed arrest. Frank Garnett,of Ancoats,arranged to meet up with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl but was instead approached by vigilante group Nonces Not Welcome. The group had stung Garnett,who was filmed being arrested and handcuffed when police arrived. Garnett claimed he had a son and had "never done this" in his life. He also accused the hunters of "doing it for the sake of it" and trying to ruin his career. [8] [9]
Ashley railway station is in the village of Ashley in Cheshire,England. It is located on the Mid-Cheshire line 17+3⁄4 miles (28.6 km) southwest of Manchester Piccadilly.
Southport railway station serves the town of Southport,Merseyside,England. The station is the terminal of the electricified Southport branch of the Northern Line of the electric Merseyrail network and the diesel-operated Manchester-Southport Line. It is the fourth busiest station on the Merseyrail network. The station and services to Liverpool and Hunts Cross are operated by Merseyrail,with Manchester services operated by Northern Trains.
Wigan North Western railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan,Greater Manchester,England.
Wigan Wallgate railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan in Greater Manchester,England. The station serves two routes,the Manchester-Southport Line and the Manchester-Kirkby Line. It is 16 miles north-west of Manchester Victoria. The station is managed by Northern Trains,who operate all trains serving it.
Meols Cop railway station serves the Blowick suburb of the coastal town of Southport,Merseyside,England. The station has an island platform and is served by Northern Trains‘Manchester Victoria/Manchester Piccadilly - Southport via Wigan Wallgate branch services,on which it is the last stop before the terminus.
Bolton Interchange is a transport interchange combining Bolton railway station and Bolton Bus Station in the town of Bolton in Greater Manchester,England. The station is located on the Manchester to Preston line and the Ribble Valley line,and is managed by Northern Trains. The station is 11+1⁄4 miles (18.1 km) north west of Manchester Piccadilly. Ticket gates have been in operation at the station since 2016.
Gathurst railway station is a two-platform railway station on the outskirts of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan,Greater Manchester,England. The station is on the Southport line 2+3⁄4 miles north west of Wigan Wallgate station. It is currently operated by Northern Trains.
Salford Central railway station is in the city of Salford,Greater Manchester,England,close to Spinningfields and Deansgate. It is served by trains to and from Manchester Victoria,towards Rochdale and Wigan Wallgate.
Fazakerley railway station is a railway station in Fazakerley,Liverpool,England. It is situated on the Headbolt Lane branch of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network.
Parbold railway station,on the Manchester to Southport Line,serves the village of Parbold and the nearby village of Newburgh in West Lancashire,England. It is currently operated by Northern Trains.
The Manchester–Southport line is a railway line in the north-west of England,operated by Northern Trains. It was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway. The section between Wigan and Salford is also known locally as the Atherton Line.
Ince railway station serves the Ince area of Metropolitan Borough of Wigan,Greater Manchester. The station is on the Manchester-Southport Line 17¼ miles (28 km) north west of Manchester Victoria.
Hindley railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Hindley in Greater Manchester,England. It is on the Manchester to Southport line,west of where the route branches to use either the Atherton line or the Eastern Branch line via Westhoughton,Lostock and Bolton.
Westhoughton railway station is one of the two stations which serve the town of Westhoughton,in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton,Greater Manchester,north-western England. The station is 15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km) north west of Manchester Piccadilly.
Daisy Hill railway station serves the Daisy Hill area of Westhoughton,in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton,Greater Manchester,England.
Hag Fold railway station is one of the local stations that lie on the Atherton line,between Wigan and Manchester,England. The station is located 13 miles (20 km) west of Manchester Victoria with regular Northern Trains services to these towns as well as Salford,Swinton,Walkden and Hindley.
Walkden railway station serves the town of Walkden in City of Salford,Greater Manchester,England on the Manchester to Southport Line. The station is located 8+1⁄4 miles (13.3 km) north-west of Manchester with regular Northern Trains services to these towns as well as the city of Salford,Swinton and Hindley. It was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Moorside railway station is a railway station serving the town of Wardley,Greater Manchester,England. The station stands on Moorside Road,close to the junction with Chorley Road (A6).
Swinton railway station serves the towns of Swinton and Pendlebury in the City of Salford,Greater Manchester,England. It is actually located in Pendlebury and not Swinton itself;the boundary between the two districts is about 40 yards further down Station Road (B5231),beyond the junction with Boundary Road and nearer the town centre. It opened,along with the line to passenger trains,in June 1887.
The Kirkby Branch Line is a branch railway line from Wigan to Headbolt Lane. The line's original route was from Liverpool to Bury and later the most northern of the Liverpool to Manchester lines. The line was split at Kirkby in 1977 with the western section forming a high frequency branch of the electrified Merseyrail Northern Line,also referred to as the Kirkby branch line. The Kirkby branch to Wigan remained a low frequency diesel operated service by Northern Trains from Headbolt Lane to Manchester.
Notes
Bibliography
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
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Hag Fold | Northern Trains Manchester-Headbolt Lane Manchester-Southport Line | Walkden |